Alternative Paths
by 42bookworm
Summary: I often wonder how different the story could have turned out if an event or several had been changed. So this fanfic will contain small oneshots about the change of one event and how they changed the paths taken.


**Oneshot**

He was scouting the building for any salvageable supplies, always an ear out for noises and possible Walkers. It had been nearly two weeks now since he had been alone. Daryl had left the Atlanta group behind after finding his brothers half eaten remains on the top of that office building. Fucking assholes hadn't even had the decency to look even the smallest bit contrite and the biting comments from Walsh after they had returned with the weapons had been too much. He had packed his things the same hour and had left them behind, it didn't matter to him that it was already late afternoon, or that they would be doing fish fry. He had sat himself on Merle's bike, salvaging everything that would be useful from his truck and had left before the group began with putting the fish on the grill to celebrate the weapons.  
>The only ones that had looked even the smallest bit sad had been the china man and the older lady with the abusive husband, Carrie or Carol, or something similar. The rest of the day Daryl had driven without any concrete plan in his head, he was still numb from finding his brother dead like this, chained to roof and a buffet for Walkers.<p>

Daryl had unconsciously taken the roads in the direction of the south west, where he would hopefully find some decent hunting grounds and a place to hunker down and spent the winter, and after that… well Daryl wasn't sure.

The redneck was ripped out of his thought by a pained whimper that suddenly tore through the silence, this along with a stumbling shuffle made him go into high alert. Carefully he opened the next few doors until he stumbled onto a scene that had him gaping like a dump idiot.  
>In front of him was a black haired woman pressed into a corner of the room, in one hand she held a machete, clearly raised to defend herself against the stumbling Walker that slowly made his way to her. The other hand though was pressed against her distended stomach. The woman in the blue summer dress was heavily pregnant and looked like she could pop at any moment.<p>

Jerking back to reality Daryl shot the Walker in the head before he slowly made his way to the woman while he asked gruffly, "You okay?"

The only noise that he received was a painful whimper while the woman suddenly doubled over and a clear fluid ran down between her legs.

"I just went into heavy labor." The sweating woman pressed out.

Daryl nearly dropped his crossbow while he stared wide eyed at the woman in front of him.

"Crap."

The only answer that he received was another whimper followed by a pained grunt and a change in her breathing.

"Where is your group?" Daryl wanted to know urgently, like hell he would touch this situation with a 10 meter pole, better bring her back to her folks.

"No group, I… I'm alone." The woman pressed out between swallow and fast breaths.

"Ah, hell…" Daryl head to close his eyes for a second before he approached further and tugged her on her arm, "We have to get you out of here, it's too open."

In his thoughts he was cursing any and every deity he had ever heard of, why oh why was it him that had to deal with a chick giving birth during the apocalypse?

"Can't move." was her only answer.

Rolling his eyes Daryl made the last step to invade her personal bubble and lifted her carefully into his arms. Yeah the situation was fucked up beyond any reasoning, but like hell he was leaving a pregnant woman in labor that was all alone. The woman in his arms had tensed when he had reached for her but now slowly relaxed a bit once again when she was secure in his arms.

"Oh god" she sobbed before she clenched onto Daryl's shoulder while she rode another contraction, "… the contractions are only a few minutes apart, this baby wants out right now. I have a RV at the back entrance…"

"Gotcha," Daryl grunted while he shifted his grip once more and carefully made his way down the hall and then down the stairs.

When he reached the back entrance of the building he could already see the giant RV through the window. It was one of those fancy models that only the rich people could afford. With one final sweep in every direction he hastily walked out of the door and the 10 meters to the RV. On his right side he could make out three fumbling Walkers that had become interested in him, they were now moving away from the door and changed directions to come directly at them. Unwilling to put the pregnant woman into more danger he swiftly opened the RV door and sat her down on the sofa beside the door before he returned outside and took care of the three that had in the mean time come dangerously close. After dispatching the most immediate threat he returned to the slumped over woman.

Said woman looked surprised to find the stranger back at her side, she had thought he would leave her now that he had carried her to relative safety. Instead he stood awkwardly beside her, unsure what to do but clearly unwilling to leave her by herself. Marion sobbed once more; maybe there were still some decent people in this hell of a world.

"Could you please move me into the bedroom." She asked him between the rapidly increasing contractions.

She had prepared herself as best as she could for her impending labor in the last few weeks and had arranged the bedroom accordingly. Under the bed sheet was a plastic tarp to shield the mattress from the birthing fluids. She also had moved an already filled water cooker on her bedside table which she now switched on. Behind her was a stack of clean and boiled out linens as well as a water bottle for herself to drink from.

"I… I know this is much to ask but could you remove my underwear?" she asked then exhausted while she took in her supplies.

The man in front of her made an indescribable noise and she could see his ears turning a bright red before he reluctantly moved between her legs and carefully removed her panties. She was just about to ask him if he could check her dilation progress when the bearing down pains hit her and the only thing on her mind was pushing.

After a felt eternity the pressure was suddenly mostly gone and she could breathe again. It was a strange feeling, the pain was mostly gone but now she felt very sore. Marion was also too tired to move or say anything, instead she just kept breathing heavily in the sudden silence. In the next moment she watched as the blue eyed stranger that had been pacing inside the small room and hovering over her uncertainly slowly reached between her legs and moved something up. Fascinated she looked at her blood smeared child that coughed and then gave a small wail from itself. Marion sobbed in relief while she finally grasped the situation. She had just given birth and her baby seemed to be okay, her tiny little bundle of joy was alive and kicking.

Unconsciously tears ran down her face when her little daughter was handed to her, still attached to the umbilical cord and bloody and wet. Marion took one look at the crunched up face and knew that everything she had gone through in the last few months had been worth it. Still entranced with the tiny life in her arms Marion didn't notice the stranger walking over and filling the small basin with the cooked water before he dipped one of the linens into it. When the piece of fabric was held in front of her face Marion sent him a small grateful smile and carefully removed the birthing fluids from her daughter. She then opened the small first aid kit and used clamps on the umbilical cord before she cut it through. She was so occupied with her task that when the after contractions hit she was completely unprepared and had bite down on the shout that wanted to escape her mouth, she was sore all over. Though her reaction was nothing in comparison of her rescuer's, the man that sat on her bedside looked completely freaked out when the afterbirth came out of her.

She smiled exhausted and said, "That's completely normal, it's what has fed my little girl until now." After that she tried to move but was unable to do anything.

"Ya need this for anything?" the gruff voice from the rough looking man in front of her asked.

As an answer she shook her head and he started to remove it along with the bloody sheets underneath her. The man, this perfect stranger was so careful not to jostle her or the baby while he removed all the blood from the bed that she couldn't help the tears that started to build in the corner of her eyes, she felt so emotional than anything and everything was making her cry right now.

The man was probably weirded out and scared for life, but he still helped her taking care of the important things while she was unable to move. He returned some minutes later and stood once again awkwardly half into the room.

"Thank you." Marion said once more while she moved herself carefully in a more upward position, "I don't know what I would have done if you weren't there… Eliza and me would probably be dead."

"Was nothing." The red neck in front of her said while he looked away and shrugged his shoulders.

Marion couldn't help but shake her head, she knew his type, they were rough and tough on the outside but had a good heart and a very strong honor code.

Marion couldn't help but smile once more before she said, "I'm Marion by the way, Marion Kester."

"Daryl Dixon."

"I… do you have somewhere to be or could you… I mean…?"

"Nah, nowhere to go, even if I had to, wouldn't do that. Can't let you and the little one be all by ya self."

Marion's lip trembled while she looked down onto her little daughter, her eyes most, "I… thank you…"

"I'm moving the RV further away from the city, the blood and everything will ring the dinner bell for the Walkers."

Marion just nodded at that while she slowly fell into a relaxed state, she was tired from giving birth and wanted to take a nap. With Eliza securely tugged between her body and a pillow wall she fell into a light sleep.

The next thing that awoke her was a crying at her side, alarmed she looked over and saw her little baby girl fussing with hands and feet. Marion had a pretty good guess what was wrong and so she moved out of the sticky summer dress and removed the bra until she stood naked in the room, the blood from the birth was still clinging to her thighs and made her feel uncomfortable. When the crying became more insistent Marion lifted her daughter to her breast and helped her to find the nipple. It hurt at first and was very uncomfortable because it didn't seem as if she was lactating but after the first few uncomfortable moments the milk rushed through her breast and Eliza began to feed.

Marion couldn't really describe the feeling of feeding her own child but it was amazing and terrifying at the same time. She sat down on the edge of the bed and kept watching her baby until she seemed to have enough and moved her tiny mouth away from her tit. Smiling slightly Marion put her onto her shoulder and rubbed her back until a small noise escaped the hours old baby.  
>After feeding Eliza she put her into one of the cute onesies that she had liberated from the abandoned baby stores throughout the last two months. She laid her down into the deluxe baby bed for a nap before Marion reheated the water in the water cooker and washed the blood and fluid away from her legs. After that she put on one of the dresses she had looted in the last city and downed it along with some clean panties. Her breast still felt slightly sore and so she didn't bother with a bra. She felt strangely unshy in front of Daryl, maybe because he had seen her giving birth. She grabbed a water bottle and slowly drank while she made her way to the door.<p>

When she peaked out of the bedroom she saw nobody in the main part, slightly confused Marion wandered further down and grabbed her trusty machete that had been placed in the weapon chest beside one of the windows. Slowly she made her way to the door, she couldn't see Daryl anywhere and the RV itself wasn't in that small town anymore. Instead when she walked out of the door she stood in a wood clearing with no human anywhere near. Slightly unsure now Marion took a closer look around, she was on sort of camping place. In the middle of the clearing was a fireplace with a fire going on, the fire was encircled with some big stones and looked like it had been used for campfires for years. Before she could collect further impressions, Daryl stepped out of the woods from the other side of the camping place; in his hand was a bundle of squirrels along with a rabbit. Marion sent him a small smile while he approached her, as an answer she received a small nod and a grunt, typically male.

He sat down on the old log beside the fire and started to skin the animals, Marion felt slightly queasy watching him but still walked closer and then let herself slowly and carefully onto the log. An arm snaked out to stabilize her back while she lowered herself down. Grateful Marion sighed while she looked over the tops of the trees.

"You and the little one okay?" the deep gruff voice of the redneck beside her asked.

"Yes thank you, we are both exhausted and I'm a bit sore, but we are doing fine, Eliza just fed and is now down for a nap."

"Ya feeling hungry?"

"Not right now but maybe when it's finished."

"Gonna put some stripes up now and make stew from the rest, should give you some strength." The gruff red neck said while he didn't look her into the eyes.

"Do you need anything specific? I have spices and canned vegetables inside."

Daryl just nodded and grunted but kept working on the dead animals. Marion watched him carefully as he expertly cut up the meat and put it onto some of the hot stones in the ash.

Marion noticed the rip in his trousers and shirt and offered him to mend it, as an answer Daryl just snorted and shook his head "The only thing that ya are gonna do for the next few weeks is take care of yerself and the little one."

"I… are you sure? I don't want to be a burden. I can help out."

"Ya just became a mama, so sit yer ass down and leave things alone."

Marion smiled at him with a soft kind of warmth while she watched him continuing with preparing food for them. When he asked her if she had some kind of pot that she wouldn't mind put into the fire, Marion showed him the well stocked kitchen. Daryl nodded in approval of the wide diversity of camping gear and canned goods as well as her small herb garden that she had grown in pots alongside the windows. While he searched through her supplies she explained to him that she had prepared herself for living off the RV for the next 2 to 4 months until her baby wouldn't have to be fed every few hours and she had enough strength again to go on raids.

While he continued to search her things he asked "Where ya from and why were ya alone in ya condition?"

"New Jersey, Trenton to be exact. And well, shit happens, my fiancé was of the opinion that I and the baby would only slow him down."

Daryl swore while he looked disbelieving at the young pretty woman in front of him.

"He didn't come far, the dead got to him while he unloaded our supplies into his new car." There was a dark sense of satisfaction in her voice while she looked out of the window.

"Yeah well. He had it coming, leaving yer woman alone, 'specially when she is about to become a mama." The Dixon mumbled another set of expletives before he shook his head one time and went outside with the lodge oven and the oil.

While he started with the meat, Marion cut up the onion and the garlic and opened the vegetable cans, this stew was going to last them at least two if not three days and Marion was already thinking about which food she would move out of the fridge to put containers with it in there.

The black haired woman did a quick check up on her baby but Eliza still slept and so she brought the prepared ingredients as well as two plates for the already cooked meat.

Marion handed over the ingredients and plates before she watched Daryl working. She had worked up a bit of an appetite now and hungrily worked herself through the first fresh meet for months. Daryl just watched her for a few moments before he himself worked his way through his plate.

After finishing Marion took both plates back inside to wash and dry before she returned with some bowls for the stew and brought plastic Tupperware for the leftovers.

When she had checked again on Eliza, the baby had been awake and in need of a new nappy. Marion thanked every deity that she had so much experience with babies thanks to her nieces and friends children that she knew exactly what to do. She carefully put Eliza into a carrying cloth and returned outside to the fire, it was getting darker now.

"So uhm, what are your plans now?" Marion asked unsure.

"Ya mean our plans." Daryl answered.

He didn't know from where he got the confidence suddenly but like hell he would let that woman hike through the apocalypse alone.

"Yes our plans, I mean do we search for a more permanent place or do you think being on the road would be the safest?"

"I thought we would give you and the girl some time to get more strength before searching for something permanent."

"I think it would be better for us to go now. At the moment all Eliza will do is sleep, in a few weeks she will cry every few hours for one thing or another and that could attract attention."

Daryl frowned at that but nodded, "My plan was to find some good hunting ground and a cabin to spend the winter or something but with the little one a house would be better I think, more space and the walls would mostly stop the noise."

Marion nodded at that, "I've got seeds for vegetables and fruits, nobody ever looted the gardening department." she joked.

Daryl just nodded at that, at least the woman had some common sense and was thinking long term; she would have to have it to survive pregnant and alone.

"Where did ya get the fancy RV?"

"Car dealership outside Atlanta, I just removed the keys from the board." smirked Marion.

Yeah that woman was resourceful. Nodding he walked over to his bike that had been parked in the shadows of the RV and returned with some maps. He had swiped them a few days ago at some gas station. He showed Marion were exactly they were and in which direction he wanted to go and which roads they could possibly take.

Their discussion lasted a while, Daryl soon found out how smart Marion really was, she brought concerns up for long term living that even he hadn't thought of. In the end they decided that they would go further into the west in direction of Kansas and Oklahoma, the smaller the population, the better. After finishing quite a large portion of the stew Marion bottled up the left over's and put them into the fridge.

The redneck relaxed on one of the bigger logs that were on the clearing and looked at the slowly changing sky. These last few days had been world changing, Merle's death was still hurting like a festering wound. And now that woman Marion… fate had a strange kind of humor, saddling him of all people with a newborn and the woman that just gave birth to it during a zombie apocalypse.


End file.
